Replacing three PSD leaders with more than 100 years of institutional knowledge presents district officials with a 'unique challenge.'

Nov. 29, 2012

George Osborne

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Dierdre Cook

Hiring timeline

• Nov. 1-Dec. 21: Position posted, advertised nationally. • Week of Jan. 7: School committees — made up of district employees, educators, parents and students — screen applicants, make recommendations for interviews. • Weeks of Jan. 14 and 21: School committees interview applicants. • Weeks of Jan. 28 and Feb. 4: Cabinet conducts final interviews, followed by interviews with superintendent and assistant superintendent of secondary schools. Extensive reference checks completed. • Mid-February: Final selection, announcement of hires made. For more information, visit bit.ly/PSDprincipals. • The district seeks feedback from the community about characteristics it would like to see in future principals. Surveys are available for Poudre, www.surveymonkey.com/s/ PHS_Principal; Rocky, www.surveymonkey.com/s/

Tom Lopez

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Three high school principals, with more than 100 years combined experience, are retiring from Poudre School District.

On one hand, district administrators don’t believe it will be difficult to attract new leaders. But the loss of the exiting principals’ collective knowledge, built up over more than three decades each, presents a “unique challenge.”

“A lot of the historical information they have in their heads is lost,” said Chuck DeWayne, executive director of Human Resources. “It’s institutional knowledge” that’s nearly “impossible” to replace.

Those leaving the district at the school year’s end are Dierdre Cook, principal at Fossil Ridge High School; Rocky Mountain High School Principal Tom Lopez; and George Osborne, Poudre High School’s principal.

When asked whether the district would take this opportunity to make changes, DeWayne said that’s yet to be determined; whether or what change the three schools desire will likely be heard at candidate interviews.

George Osborne | Poudre High School

“What stands out ... are the people ... who have been like an extended family for me,” said Osborne, who started at PHS in 1979 as a social studies teacher and never left.

“That’s been the hallmark since I came here,” he said, adding that knowing and keeping alive the school community is one of the things he hopes his replacement will continue for years to come. They’ll also need to understand a diverse student body, he said, made up of children in rural and urban areas and hailing from homes across an enrollment boundary approximately the size of Rhode Island.

Osborne is “not sure” what’s next — he may return to coaching, perhaps. He’ll definitely spend more time with his family.

But he’ll miss watching the energy of a teacher working with students in the classroom, donning a pink helmet and riding a pink scooter to announce the homecoming royalty, chaperoning dances, and doing all those lesser-known parts of the job.

Tom Lopez | Rocky Mountain High School

A Fort Collins native, Lopez made a pact with himself and his wife to serve as Rocky’s principal for 10 years. As the end of that decade nears, he says he feels like he’s given it his all.

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“This is my dream job,” the 37-year PSD employee said of his current work. This is how he wanted to culminate his career, at a “remarkable high school.”

The job of principal has been “demanding,” certainly, but also “rewarding,” he said, noting points of pride in the school’s art gallery and numerous accolades on a recent tour.

Looking ahead to the next couple months, Lopez is excited to become a first-time grandfather. He intends to rest more, stress less, care for his mother and determine where in the community his strengths are best-suited.

Dierdre Cook | Fossil Ridge High School

When Cook started at PSD in 1981, she taught summer, night and driver’s education classes. From there, she embarked on a “great journey” that brought her to Fossil Ridge’s doorstep in 2005, a year after the district’s youngest high school opened its doors to 475 students.

“I can’t believe how fast the years go,” she said, smiling and reflecting on her 32 years with a district by which she “always felt supported” and her time at a school that now has 2,100 students.

She’ll miss most “those kids that just grab your heart,” “exceptional teachers,” and greeting students each morning. “I’m even going to miss upset, angry parents,” she said, because it was in them she saw a passion for their child’s education.

“No idea,” she said with a hearty laugh, when asked what’s ahead. “I’m looking for a job.” Volunteerism, consulting, work at CSU — she’s not sure. But it will revolve around education.